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Canada Looking To Extend Presence In Libya

Canada might be looking to continue playing a military role in Libya, where there still remains a strong presence of Islamic State forces, according to Chief of the Defence Staff; General Jonathan Vance. Today at a security and defence conference that took place in Ottawa, Vance told the audience that they should watch Libya because “we will certainly be involved somehow” in that area.

“Libya sits at a crossroads of some very important and dangerous things that are happening that are affecting Europe, it's affecting Africa, it's affecting even our forces deployed... in Sinai,” said Vance. And he doesn't know whether that involvement from Canada is going to be military action or not, but he seems certain that we will stay engaged in that region. Later on, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan stated that Canada might consider engagement in Libya as part of a coalition and that he's been having ongoing discussions with NATO allies on the matter.

NATO previously, along with the U.S. and France, launched an air war that managed to topple Libya's former government. Gaddafi himself was eventually found, attacked and murdered in the street by a mob. A recent disclosure of phone conversations, between former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, show that Gaddafi forwarded of a new Reign of Terror following his potential demise. Gaddafi previously pleaded with Blair, telling him that he was working to defend Libya from Al Qaeda.

“They have managed to get arms and terrify people. People Can't leave their homes.. They have arms and are terrorizing people in the street,” he said. His warnings however wouldn't be far from what would occur later, as terror groups connected to Al Qaeda would move to conquer much of the country; following his death. That wasn't the only warning Gaddafi had for Blair, the phone conversations also reveal that he told Blair that those causing unrest in Libya, would eventually seek to do the same in Europe. “They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe,” said Gaddafi.